


The Call

by comfortwriter28



Series: The Call AU [1]
Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20513348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comfortwriter28/pseuds/comfortwriter28
Summary: “Clay? Can you come down here for a minute?”The call changes his life, never in his wildest dreams did he think one of his mom’s cases would change his life so radically or lead to him sharing a living space with Justin Foley. Then again, how would anyone ever assume that?*Set during Clay's sophomore year, reason for change in timeline explained in note at the end of part 2 chapter 1!





	1. The Call

“Clay! Can you come down here for a minute?”

Clay groans feeling his frustration flare up as his attention is taken away from what he’s reading. “In a minute, I’m finishing homework!” Killer Robot isn’t his homework as much as he would like it to be but this is probably the only chance he’ll get to catch up before the next issue comes out. He’s three behind and the next one is supposed to be huge, like ending this arc huge. He needs to be ready for it!

“Now Clay, this is important!”

He huffs and closes the book, tossing it off to the side in frustration and then immediately checking to make sure it isn’t damaged. His parents always make him stop doing things if he hasn’t finished homework but now that he’s trying to use it as an excuse it suddenly isn’t good enough.

He rolls off the bed and heads downstairs. He hears voices coming from the kitchen and follows them into the strangest sight he thinks he’s ever seen. His mom is sitting in her usual seat talking while his dad is at the stove occasionally chiming in. That on it’s own isn’t surprising since a lot of his parents conversations involve his mom doing most of the talking. What makes the scene so utterly foreign is the fact that they aren’t alone, sitting at the table with his mom is Justin Foley looking confused, uncomfortable, and exhausted.

He clears his throat loudly and the two at the table look up to see him. Clay glares at Justin who quickly looks back down at the table while his mom makes a motion for him to sit.

“Clay, sorry to bother you while you were busy.”

She’s using her lawyer persona, placating him by admitting he was right to not want to come down immediately, trying to butter him up before blindsides him with something ridiculous. Then again _Justin Foley_ is in his house so everything is already ridiculous and this has nowhere to go but down.

“You know Justin right?”

He nods. If she’s drawing this out it must be very bad. She was at court today and that doesn’t at all explain why Justin is _in their house_.

“Well he’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

Oh shit did she-did she actually just say that?

“It’s complicated and I can’t tell you everything but just know that he needs a place to stay for a while and we know this isn’t ideal but we need to make it work.”

His mouth must be on the floor and his mom stops short, she obviously has more to say but doesn't because of his expression. Dad is still facing the stove and has no idea why Mom stopped so he ‘helpfully’ comes in with, “We figure the two of you can share a room, Justin can take the couch and you’ll keep your bed. It’s only going to be for a few nights so you can make it work, right?”

He sounds cheerful and optimistic, blissfully unaware that Clay is glaring daggers at all three occupants in the room. There are some days he wishes looks could kill even if he would have been an orphan long ago because of it.

“Why.” Why the hell should he have to share a house with Justin? It’s bad enough that six hours a day they share a school but that can’t be helped. There is no reason at all he should have to come home and _still_ deal with Justin. None at all. And his room? He could go out and build a doghouse now for Justin and that would still be more than he deserves.

“Well, like I said I can’t tell you the details because they’re classified, but I can tell you this. The court has reason to believe that Justin’s residence is unsafe and in order to avoid him spending a few nights in a juvenile hall, I agreed to take him while everything gets sorted out. Your father and I talked it over and we decided this is for the best and expect you to act civil towards Justin while he is here.”

“What the fuck, this is so unfair! Why would you think it’s okay to bring him here and why should I have to act civil to him in my own home! I’m sure any of his friends on the team or whatever could have taken him for a few nights! Send him to one of them!”

“Clay Matthew Jensen do not use that language and lower your voice.” Mom doesn’t yell when she’s angry, she keeps her voice very level and the only indication she is angry, is a particular tone that enters it which is there now but he doesn’t care.

“No! Get him out of here I don’t care where he ends up, just as long as it isn’t here!”

“Clay,” Dad just sounds disappointed but it’s not like he has any idea how Clay feels about this. “You don’t really mean that, it’s not like this is a permanent arrangement anyway. Justin needs to be staying with someone approved by the court and your mother is since she works for it. It’s only for a few days, if everything goes as planned, this will all be sorted out by Thursday and the latest.”

“I don’t care. He doesn’t belong here, he can go sit in juvie or whatever while it gets sorted out. If it isn’t for very long then it won’t matter.”

His mother is ready to fire back but a quiet voice breaks in. “Mrs. Jensen, you’ve already done a lot for me and I don’t want to be a problem. I can spend another few nights in a holding cell, I don’t mind.”

It’s the first time Justin speaks and it’s his voice but so totally unlike Clay’s ever heard it. It isn’t loud and arrogant, mixing with the laughter of the other jocks as they bully someone nor is it the goofy tone he takes when he’s called on in class and is too stupid to know the answer. Actually this voice is tired, strained, and maybe a little nervous. If it was anyone else in the world saying it, Clay thinks his heart would soften. Even though it is Justin and Clay knows who he is, he still feels something in his chest and for the first time, looks the other boy over closely. 

He looks as tired as he sounds and his face is swollen slightly. Actually his whole demeanor is off. He isn’t being obnoxious and rude at all, if anything he seems to just want to disappear and he’s kept his head down for the whole conversation, shoulders drawn up to his ears and even now isn’t really looking up, pretending to study the words on whatever paper is in front of him. If Clay didn’t know better, he’d think Justin is afraid of something, but he does know better and the Justin he knows is one of the people who causes fear and doesn’t really qualify as a human.

Still, right now he could believe this person is totally new, separate from the monster he knows because right now Justin just doesn’t look like Justin.

His mother is mid-lecture he hasn’t been paying attention to when he cuts in, “Fine he can stay.” He isn’t happy about it but the look of pure relief on Justin’s face make him think there’s a lot he’s missing. He doesn’t like Justin but he can put up with him for a few days if for no other reason than to prove he’s the better person to himself.

Apparently getting his submission is the only thing his mom is interested in because as the words leave his mouth, she ends the lecture mid sentence. Dad is apparently done with whatever dinner is for the moment because he puts a lid on the pot and turns to face Clay.

“Why don’t we get the couch set up?”

What he’s really saying is, ‘let’s get out of here so Mom and the little monster can have some privacy’ but Clay doesn’t want to be here anyway so he grunts and they head up.

Dad grabs sheets and a blanket from the linen closet and follows Clay into his bedroom. He counts himself lucky that the man doesn’t comment that the couch has a lot of stuff on it that Clay makes no move to clear himself, he doesn't want to give anyone the impression that he wants Justin here at all.

He reaches for his history homework, at least while Dad is in the room, and pretends to work on it. 

“Thank you Clay.”

He tries to hold a sigh in because he really doesn’t care about what’s going to be said.

“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, having someone stay here for a few days and more so when it’s someone you clearly don’t like but-well you’re mother couldn’t share everything with me but she told me enough to know that Justin needs us right now so he can be here. I’m not asking for the two of you to be best friends but just be nice to him and help him out a bit. Alright?”

Clay nods pretending to be engrossed in an assignment he already did but when Dad clears his throat Clay sighs and says, “Yeah fine, as long as he’s out of here by Thursday.”

He’s pretty sure his dad can’t promise that but to his surprise the man nods and leaves him in peace. He tosses the book aside and picks up his comic but after only a few minutes, he comes to the conclusion that he can’t concentrate. He wants to, being immersed in a world of killer robots is a far more appealing option than thinking about his unwanted housemate. He doesn’t like Justin, has never liked him and will never like him and yet he doubts he’s ever heard the boy sound or look so meek. And Mom brought him home from court? He’s not concerned, not for Justin, but he is certainly curious.


	2. Advice from Wise Sources

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Clay has problems he sees Tony, that’s just how it works, as unhelpful as he usually is. He’s also sort of an ass, maybe it’s time to get better friends?

“Alright, let me get this straight. Justin, as in Justin Foley, is your new roommate and you don’t know why but you think it has something to do with your mom’s job. You’re angry because you hate Justin and you don’t want him in your house but he seems different to you and you’re nosy and want to know more but neither of your parents will crack and you don’t want to ask him because you don’t want to talk to him.” Tony pauses for a breath but it isn’t long enough for Clay to cut in before Tony resumes. “Oh and you’re also annoyed because besides keeping you up at night with ‘an unreasonable amount of moving’, which you have no right to be angry about by the way, he’s basically the perfect house guest and that annoys you because you find yourself having a hard time continuing to hate him.”

The asshole leans back off the wall they’re sitting on, swinging his legs as they dangle and wearing a look so innocent, it couldn’t be more smug if he tried.

“I don’t know why I bothered to tell you anything, you’re no help at all! And I didn’t say any of that! For one thing I’m not nosy and for another I have no trouble hating him, he’s an ass. And I do not move around in my sleep that much!”

“Of course, that’s why you asked me to give both of you a ride today.”

“Mom made me.”

“And why in the car you made sure he had his lunch.”

“If he forgot it I would somehow be in trouble.”

“Mhm, and why you’re going to ask me to give both of you a ride home today.”

“I was not!”

“Sure. Listen Clay, I know he gave you some trouble last year and I don’t excuse that but he lives around me and that’s no good for anyone. I’m sure you won’t, since your not nosy, but you could ask Jeff about him. They have some similar friends and probably hang out a bit, maybe he can give you a clearer picture of who Justin is. Or Zach, they’re friends too. You might be surprised by what you find.”

Clay makes a face. “Why not add Bryce on there too, or Monty.”

“Justin and Monty don’t like each other and I don’t trust Bryce to be truthful.”

“You say that like this isn’t all hypothetical and I’m actually going to do it.”

Tony looks past him for a moment and calls out, “Hi, Jeff.”

Clay can’t stop himself as he turns around and scans the crowd for the only jock at the school worth talking to and then realizes that Jeff has a different lunch period and Tony is still being an ass. Turning back around, he isn’t sure if the other boy is trying to be so smug or if it comes naturally to him but there’s no way his sandwich is that fascinating. Fine, he doesn’t want to talk to Jeff with Tony around anyway.

The bell rings and he’s walking away when Tony calls out, “You can tell Justin I’ll give him a ride back too.”

Clay only gives him the middle finger and Tony’s laughter filters back to him.

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He won’t admit he rushes through going over Jeff’s homework and in his defense, most of it is right anyway so he’s clearly doing his job, but it doesn’t go unnoticed by Jeff that they’re done five minutes too soon.

“What’s up Clay?” Just from his tone, Clay can tell he thinks something is.

He opens his mouth to deny the charge on reflex but realizes he’s going to ask one way or another. He checks to make sure no one is around to listen to them because he doesn't want people knowing he asking about stupid Justin and then says, “You’re friends with Justin right?”

“Well yeah. You’re asking about Justin? Not a girl?”

He sounds surprised at first and then disappointed, Clay rolls his eyes because really Jeff’s brain seems capable of thinking about girls, then sports, and everything else seems to get lost.

“It’s not like that.”

Jeff looks shocked and it occurs to Clay that Jeff might not have thought it was ‘like that’ until Clay said it wasn’t. Now the moron obviously thinks it is and smiles, reaching over to ruffle his hair, his most annoying habit that he picked up two weeks into Clay tutoring him. He still can’t seem to break him of it. “Wouldn’t make a difference if it was Clay.”

He swats the hand away and decides not to argue his case any farther instead pushing his original question. “What do you know about him?”

Jeff leans back in his chair and frowns, clearly thinking and goes silent for a few minutes. Clay’s just beginning to think he should pull the fire alarm preemptively, because if the older boy thinks anymore, there’s going to be smoke coming out of his ears, when he speaks.

“Well I don’t know him too well so I don’t know how much help I can be but I know he’s a huge sports fan, basketball is his favorite and it’s the only one I’ve ever seen him play but I’ve heard he’s really bad at baseball. He’s funny too, kid can tell a story; I’m not sure how much of them are true but damn are they a good time. He eats a lot, I don’t know where it all goes cause he’s skinny and short but he can out eat any of us. Umm, and I know he’s into girls too but that can change, probably.”

Clay shakes his head in disbelief and Jeff looks surprised. “What?”

“You really don’t know anymore about him?”

“Not really, we have the same friends but it’s not like we talk a lot about important stuff. If you’re looking for something in particular you can ask. I won’t promise I know the answer but a question might help me remember something.” He offers a little, apologetic shrug at the end.

Clay opens his mouth but then realizes he doesn't really know what he’s looking for himself. Maybe some reason his home would be unsafe? That’s the reason he’s at Clay’s house or something like that.

“Don’t worry about it. Thanks.”

“No problem! And hey, I know you don’t like him but Bryce has been friends with Justin for ages, they met in like, the fourth grade or something. If you really want to know about Justin, he’s your best bet, or maybe Zach, they’re really close,”

Clay can’t help the way his face twists at the names but Jeff is already out of his seat grabbing his backpack so Clay is able to get rid of it before it’s seen. The older boy claps his shoulder on his way out wishing him luck and telling him he’ll see him tomorrow leaving Clay for a minute to contemplate his options.

Jeff was useless but maybe because he didn’t know what questions to ask, he could try again tomorrow if he figures out what he wants to know and how to ask it but he sort of doubts that’ll help. He isn’t curious enough yet to subject himself to anyone else and regardless, Bryce would start the rumor up again that he’s gay and no amount of curiosity is worth that. Besides, in less than a week this will be an unhappy memory and he’ll be mostly free of Justin again so there really isn’t a point in looking around more.

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Dinner is an awkward affair that consists of his parents trying to draw him and Justin into a conversation with questions and him and Justin usually giving one or two word replies. They’re clearly frustrated by the end but he escapes up to his room before they can corner him. Justin wanders in not too much later to his surprise and disappointment. Last night he had stayed downstairs until going to bed and besides his dad telling him to give Justin some of the clothes he outgrew for pajamas, there wasn’t much talk. They don’t say anything to each other and Justin grabs the pair of sweatpants and T-shirt he slept in last night and makes for the shower.

Clay takes the time to finish off his French homework and then moves on to trigonometry. Justin comes out a while later and starts his own homework. It’s alright because they both stay pretty silent but Clay knows the other boy is there and that annoys him enough. 

At some point there’s a knock on his door and Mom pokes her head in. At first he thinks she’s here to tell Justin something but instead she asks, “Have you boys finished your homework yet?”

Clay grunts and Justin offers a quiet, “Working on it.”

“Good. If you have any questions, Matt or I can help. Clay probably can too.”

He chooses to ignore her and pretend he’s too deeply immersed in what he’s doing to hear her and she either believes him or chooses not to make a big deal about it and leaves.

Justin looks over at him curiously but Clay responds with a dirty look and the other boy drops his head quickly. Clay smirks, enjoying the feeling of power.

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He bursts awake, sitting up so fast he doesn’t even know he is. Next to him he hears someone mutter “shit” but he can’t focus on who it is yet. He’s cold, but also sweating and deep inside of him is a heavy, leaden feeling that makes even remaining sitting up exhausting, the leftovers of whatever he was dreaming of moments ago. He doesn't know why he woke up though. The nightmares usually have to run their course before he can get out of them unless someone else wakes him up.

“Clay?”

His eyes adjust to the darkness and he sees Justin crouched next to his bed, eyes wide with fear and that’s when Clay realizes the other boy is touching him. He shakes the hand off his shoulder in disgust and feels his lip curl as he address Justin, “What the hell do you want.”

The other boy’s face turns red as he pulls his hand back, almost like he touched fire and just realized it was hot. He answers evenly though, to Clay’s surprise, “You were moaning and squirming.”

“And?”

“I thought maybe you’d want to wake up.”

“Well whether I wanted to or not, I am and now I won’t be able to go back to sleep.”

Justin opens his mouth to say something but then decides not to and closes it again then awkwardly mumbles an apology. He stays for a moment as if he expects some kind of explanation but returns to the couch when he realizes he isn’t getting one. Clay waits for him to lay back down before he strips the bed and puts clean sheets on. It won’t help, he’s done this routine too many times to even hope he’ll fall back asleep but lying in a damp bed is disgusting, same with being in damp clothes so he changes. When he settles back down he expects to hear the deep breathing of his stupid roommate sleeping but doesn’t. In fact he doesn’t even hear the rustling of the sheets that annoyed him last night. He wonders what the other boy is even doing. Despite having several hours until dawn to try figuring it out, he doesn’t come to a satisfying answer, nor does he ever hear Justin fall asleep. Two more days left and maybe he can wake up from at least one nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is actually out earlier than I thought because work on this fic has progressed nicely. This chapter features Clay getting a hard tome from his best friend and another friend both of who I hope will be returning more often throughout this series but we'll see. I wanted his interactions with Tony to be funny since I feel like Tony as "unhelpful Yoda" totally enjoys trolling Clay especially when his friend is being particularly stubborn or unreasonable. Jeff is just trying to help.
> 
> Next chapter is written so look for it Tuesday or Wednesday probably. It shouldn't be too much later and probably won't be earlier. That chapter will feature another character from the series as well as Clay sort of warming up to Justin, sort of.
> 
> Happy reading and as always I love comments and thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement on chapter 1, I got so many comments it really did warm my heart!


	3. Warming Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin keeps trying to win Clay over but he isn’t falling for it, not at all.

The next morning Justin looks as tired as he does and when his parents leave the house, he corners Justin and demands to know why. He half expects some kind of shitty response about how he couldn’t sleep because Clay kept him up all night. Instead he’s caught off guard by a question.

“You said you weren’t going back to sleep right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“That sucks, I mean not being able to go back to sleep so, I mean, I thought I stayed up.”

“Why?”

“Solidarity?”

“Do you even know what that means?”

The tips Justin’s ears redden as he replies, “Yeah.”

“Well next time don’t bother.”

He leaves before Justin can reply. Maybe he’s being mean for no reason but Justin isn’t being nice for no reason either. He doesn’t know what the other boy is planning but he’s sure it’s something. Maybe he just wants Clay to think he’s nice so the next few days are bearable or maybe it’s something more sinister but Clay isn’t falling for it either way.

Tony picks them up not too much later and greets both of them pleasantly but he only gets a grunt from Clay and an uncomfortable “hello” from Justin. The rest of the ride is silent. When they pull in, Tony asks Clay to hang back and help him with something and after watching Justin disappear into the building, he turns to Clay.

“What happened? Neither of you look like you slept at all.”

“We didn’t.” 

Tony holds his hands up and Clay feels a little bad he snapped at him but the older boy is being nosy.

“Can I ask why?”

“I couldn’t sleep and the moron stayed up with me all night.”

“That was kind of him, even if it wasn’t very smart. Did he give a reason?”

Clay glares at him and grumbles, “It wasn’t kind.”

“Oh?” Tony sounds sounds surprised and Clay can’t help the feeling that the older boy is judging him as he asks, “How do you know?”

“Because it’s Justin and he’s as far from kind as a person can get.”

He knows Tony is judging him because the other boy shakes his head and looks at him, dark eyes disappointed. “You’re too harsh on people. From everything I’ve heard, Justin has been very accommodating to you and you’ve spited him in return. Why not give him a chance?”

He can’t help the resentment that wells up in him because so far that’s been everyones opinion. Then again he’s pretty sure the only other people who know about the arrangement are his parents and Tony. He can’t speak for if Justin has told anyone but he’s sure Justin would rather die than say he’s living with Clay, even temporarily. Clay personally feels the same way, Tony only knows for rides to and from school.

“It’s my house! He has to accommodate me, I live there! And why should I give him a chance?”

“Well you’re living with him for one so it might make life easier.”

He opens his mouth to remind Tony not for much longer but instead replies, “I need to visit my locker before class.” 

Tony makes no effort to stop him or continue the conversation thankfully and it gets dropped.

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Not sleeping the night before means that he nods off in trig and the teacher calls him to discuss it after class. He isn’t in any trouble since he’s the top student in the class but it does put him in danger of being late for history and Mrs. Burns has a strict attendance policy and is also on the other side of the school.

He hurries over but unfortunately he doesn’t pay attention to where he’s going and as he rounds a corner too fast, walks right into Monty. It’s bad because the older boy is obviously having a terrible day and looking for someone to take it out on and since Clay’s just knocked both their books to the floor, he can’t just try to run and hope to get away.

“Watch where you’re fucking going!”

Clay wonders if this where he dies because Monty looks pissed and his arms are raised. He stammers an apology but his body is frozen until Monty barks, “Pick my books up!”

He drops to one knee scrambling to get them all together and once he does, offers them to Monty who smacks them out of his hand.

“I said pick them up!”

“He did, you’re just uncoordinated Monty. Better be careful, if Miller finds out he may cut you from the team.”

Justin suddenly appears standing with them and Monty sputters angrily before challenging, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Seeing you mess up I guess.”

Clay looks up to see Justin wearing his famous smile and Monty turning increasingly redder.

“It’s none of your business.”

“No but Jensen was nice enough to get your shit the first time but I’m sure he has better things to do than get them a second time.” He gives Clay a look out of the corner of his eye and since he’s already gathered his own books, he takes the distraction as a chance to escape. Behind him is more yelling but he’s long gone before Monty can do anything else about it. 

He’s still late but Mrs. Burns lets him off with a warning since it’s his first time but he barely pays attention in class since he’s busy wondering about the exchange. He can’t figure out why Justin did what he did. It’s not even like it’s that major, in fact it was little more than basic human decency, you see someone getting attacked by a feral animal and you try to help them. Still Justin hasn’t demonstrated this human decency before so he wonders if he is now but eventually chalks it up to Justin apparently not liking Monty like Tony mentioned it. That satisfies him enough to focus for the rest of the day and Justin having practice after school means that he can pretend things are normal for a while longer.

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That ends when Justin comes back and he’s sporting a new bruise on his face. Apparently he plans to hide it because Clay catches him in the bathroom with makeup trying to do exactly that.

Justin sees him in the mirror and they awkwardly lock eyes for a moment until Clay closes the door and returns to his room. Had that come from Monty? Did he get it for Clay’s sake because he stepped in? On one hand it’s pretty believable since Monty is Monty and Clay doesn’t put it past him to punch someone for getting in his way. On the other hand it still shakes him that Justin would do so for Clay’s sake and not just to pick a fight with someone he doesn’t like. 

Then again, for the past three days, Justin has been subdued and apparently it isn’t even just at the house, Jeff mentioned something about it today. Apparently the other boy has generally been quieter than usual and picking a fight for the sake of a fight is pretty hard to imagine from the Justin he’s seen the past few days. But are a few days enough to make him question everything he knows about Justin? In his mind, Justin’s always been one of the worst jocks in the school, a bully, a moron, and barely fit to be considered human. Can he really change that view after a few questionably positive interactions?

The other boy joins him in the room, all traces of the mark gone from his face and Clay opens his mouth to ask but Justin says casually, “I took an elbow to the face today in practice. Didn’t want your parents to worry.”

“Right.” Seems like it could be true enough, his parents are chronic worriers and he vaguely remembers Jeff talking about how dangerous basketball was for some reason or another. Still, he can’t help the guilty feeling in him that he somehow caused this. He wonders why he even cares and tries to convince himself he doesn’t. If Justin got smacked by Monty it’s on Monty not him.

“It didn’t have anything to do with Monty?” And yet, he can’t let go of it that easily and asks, even if he really doesn’t want to know the answer, he has to make sure he somehow isn’t in Justin’s debt. At least that’s what he tells himself. He doesn't want to owe Justin anything and if he does, he wants to resolve it now.

A smile breaks out onto Justin’s face, not the ladykiller smile, different, humorous somehow, maybe a little teasing even but playful. “Nah. Would you be worried about me if it was?”

A look of revulsion almost breaks out on his face but he manages to stop it...mostly at least. “Ew no. I just want to make sure I don’t owe you anything.”

The reaction he gets isn’t one he expected. For a moment, pale blue eyes lock with his and they look perfectly miserable in every way. “You don’t owe me anything. If you hadn’t said yes to letting me stay here I would have been in a holding cell or juvie.”

The sheer honesty shocks him into wordlessness and he wants to say something, wants to tell Justin that he did it only so Justin would know he’s better or something like that. Instead Dad calls up that it’s dinner time and Justin’s face immediately brightens as he jumps up. “C’mon, you dad said he was making quiche. I don’t know what that is but I’m starving!”

Clay rolls his eyes and stands up too follow the overly excited boy down the stairs calling, “You’re always starving.” In only a few meals of eating with the other boy he know Jeff is completely right, Justin is shorter than he is and skinnier too but damn can he eat. He never refuses when something is passed his way and Clay wonders how he isn’t sick.

“Yea but I had practice today so it’s like, doubly so!” His voice is practically sing song and even the way he walks down the stairs has a rhythm to it.

Clay rolls his eyes as he follows. Justin’s about to be disappointed because for all the talent Dad has at cooking, quiche is something he just can’t make. He always burns it, there’s never enough salt, and no matter how he measures what he puts in it, there’s always too much egg and not enough of everything else. He makes it about once every two months, trying to get it right and Clay always hates it. A slight smile makes its way onto his face as he thinks about Justin tasting it. The other boy is always a suck up, telling Dad how what he’s made is “like, fucking amazing” or “the best damn thing he’s ever eaten”. He doesn’t even usually get a comment about his language which is totally unfair. Tonight he’s going to be let down and Clay’s a little excited for it, at the very least it should be entertaining to watch.

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He’s disappointed twice in that meal. First by this not being the time Dad finally gets it right, and then by Justin still acting like it’s the best food he’s ever eaten. He personally only chokes down enough of it to satisfy the man and then escapes the eggy monstrocity and disappears to his room. At least Justin’s made sure they won’t have leftovers of it another night, there isn’t enough left for that and bad as it is the first night, it’s actually somehow worse reheated.

When Justin comes up, Clay demands to know how he ate the quiche when it was dried out, awful, burnt in several places, and didn’t have nearly enough of anything in it.

“Was it really that bad?” Justin looks legitimately surprised by Clay stating the absolute truth.

“Yes! He makes it all the time and it sucks. How did you eat so much of it?”

Justin sort of shrugs and replies, “It didn’t taste that bad to me and the burnt bits I just put in the back of my mouth and swallowed so I didn’t have to taste them.”

Clay rolls his eyes. “You really can eat anything, can't you?”

“As long as it isn’t crab.”

Clay gives him a questioning look and Justin breaks into a grin.

“The Walker’s cook made crab one time when we were younger and I tried some. Turns out I’m allergic but damn that shit was amazing. The night sucked though, I was over the toilet for most of it but it was all good. Bryce took me the next day to get burgers so everything worked out in the end.”

From there the conversation peters out and they start homework. It’s exactly what they did the night before but somehow tonight it’s less awkward. He wouldn’t call the silence companionable exactly, but it isn’t as stifling as before. He even throws Justin a bone and helps him with his algebra homework and after that they’re tired enough to go to bed. 

Clay doesn’t spend a lot of time lying awake like he usually does and Justin seems to nod off pretty quickly if the deep, slow breaths are anything to go by. He follows not too much later with the thought that tomorrow this should all be over and that maybe it hasn’t been the nightmare he thought it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here we go, next chapter and half way through the 1st part. This one features the first positive interactions between Justin and Clay. Of course that's a pretty loose term. Also Tony's back to drop more pearls of wisdom and Monty is here to be...Monty. 
> 
> Next chapter should be up Friday or Saturday and I finished writing the sixth chapter! It features Clay and Justin getting a little closer by Justin humanizing himself a little in a less than fortunate way, for Justin at least. Also Tony will be back. 
> 
> As always happy reading and let me know what you think in the comments below!


	4. Plans and Midnight Snacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monty shows up again and Clay finds out a new detail about Justin.

The next day they go to school and for the most part everything is normal. Tony picks them up, his best friend doesn’t interrogate him since the ride is filled with casual conversation, and he makes it on time to all of his classes and doesn't doze off or day dream through any of them. He and Justin politely acknowledge each other in the halls and things are fine, good even.

Until Monty corners him on the way out with a nasty smile.

“You ran out on me yesterday Jensen. We didn’t get to finish out talk but that’s okay, we can now.”

He’s smiling, a horrible one that’s all malice and Clay wishes anyone was around but he was a bit late finishing up at his locker and everyones already outside, now he’s going to pay for it.

“You and Foley? I have to admit I’m surprised he helped you and it got me thinking. He’s been weird lately and you have something to do with it. What are you his rebound after Monica? Was she actually so bad he turned gay or is this just a fling?”

“It’s nothing.” He looks for a way past Monty but there isn’t one.

“It’s not nothing. Justin is a pussy ass bitch but he isn’t some bleeding heart. He doesn’t do shit for anyone unless he’s stupid enough to think they like him.”

There’s a wild look in Monty’s eyes and Clay thinks he might die here because he’s terrifying.

“Maybe he just decided to mess with you.” He feels a little bad about possibly throwing Justin under the bus but he really doesn’t want to get punched.

“Nah, he wouldn’t take a punch for someone like you. Maybe for Dempsey cause they’re probably gay but not for you.”

“You punched him?” Despite the imminent danger of getting his face broken, the question slips out because that isn’t what Justin said. He realizes when the lewd smile grows that he’s made a huge mistake because he sounds just concerned enough to ‘support’ Monty’s idea.

“Yea I did, got him good right in his stupid, pretty face and would have gotten him again but Bryce told me to lay off. Worried about your boyfriend?” The last part is obviously a bait but he’s saved from replying when a voice calls out from down the hall.

“Monty I’m sure whatever business you have with Clay can be done in the car. I’ll give you a ride home if you need it.”

Clay has been happy to see Tony before, sometimes unreasonably so, but never like this. The other boy crosses the distance between them with long strides and he might as well be an angel from heaven for all Clay can tell.

Happy as he is to see Tony, he doesn’t expect the response be gets, Monty gets all stiff and takes a step back, letting Clay slip around him and safely to Tony’s side. The angry boy looks annoyed and mumbles something about Bryce wanting him.

Tony lets him go before calling after him. “ I heard you and Clay had a run-in yesterday. Once is an accident, twice less so. Don’t make it three times.”

Monty doesn’t reply but Clay thinks he might stiffen even more at the statement. He’s just confused. “I’ve never seen Monty act like that around anyone. Is he afraid of you?” He can’t see why. Tony is one of the nicest guys he knows and Monty doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. Somehow this doesn’t make sense.

“Don’t worry about it Clay but let me know if he gives you a problem again.” Tony’s eyes follow Monty’s retreating form and don’t move until the other boy rounds the corner at the end of the hallway.

They then walk the other way, out the door and into the parking lot. Justin is waiting inside Tony’s car already and looks anxious until he sees them. At that point he releases his grip on his bag and Clay can see the tension leave his body. Getting in and leaving is done without any words and it isn’t until they’re several blocks away from the school that Tony breaks the silence.

“What did Monty want?” His voice is wrong, trying to be cool and calm but with something underneath that’s anything but.

“He wanted to know about Justin.”

“What!” Justin leans forward in the back seat.

“He wanted to know why you took a punch for me yesterday.” A little accusation makes its way into Clay’s voice but he can’t help it. He feels a little less self righteous when Justin looks away guiltily. 

“And what did you tell him?” Tony is apparently leading this group discussion so Justin doesn’t have to reply yet.

“Nothing, well not really but you showed up before I actually answered anything.”

Tony goes silent for a moment and then continues. “Justin, how likely is Monty to let this go?”

“Not really unless Bryce tells him to. If Monty thinks something’s up he usually keeps trying to get the answers he wants.”

“How likely is Bryce to tell him that?”

“He will as long as he’s around but Monty will probably keep trying to talk to Clay when he isn’t.”

“Alright, Clay you’re going to start tutoring Justin.” 

“What?!”

Both he and Justin are just confused but Tony doesn’t seem to care much as he explains calmly, “Monty thinks something is going on and you two have some sort of connection. I doubt either of you want him knowing the truth but if he has something to latch onto he might leave you alone.”

His eyes meet Justin’s and he shrugs. He can do that but will it satisfy Monty? Justin is the only one of them who might be able to answer that.

“That could work. He didn’t like that Jeff was spending time with you until he heard it was for tutoring so he could stay on the team. If he thinks I’m doing the same he’ll let it go.”

That makes enough sense and they set up a schedule while Clay tries to remember where he needs to go to get the paperwork but his mind keeps coming back to Justin lying.

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He’s still trying to let it go after they’re dropped off, determined to get his homework done early so he doesn’t have to worry about it later. Justin follows suit and they work in silence for a while. Eventually though, the question just keeps coming to him and he finally sets his books aside and looks over at Justin.

“Why’d you lie?”

The other boy freezes for a moment, a full tensing of his muscles and then replies through his teeth, “It wasn’t important.”

“I think it is!” Frustration seeps into his voice and Justin looks uncomfortable. Serves him right.

“Monty punched me cause he doesn’t like me, he just used what happened as an excuse. I thought he was over it when he did which is why I lied about it. I didn’t realize he was obsessed.”

He’s squirming a little and Clay’s pretty sure he’s lying. The problem is, he doesn’t know which part Justin is lying about now.

“Listen Clay, I didn’t-we were sort of getting along yesterday and I didn’t want things between us to get awkward again.”

Something there still doesn’t seem right but before they can talk anymore, Mom comes into the room. Her expression is indecipherable as she asks Justin to join her in the kitchen. He follows her out looking worried.

He’s gone about fifteen minutes before coming back up. If going down he resembled someone going to trial, coming up he looks more like a convict on death row. He sort of stands in the door awkwardly and clears his throat before offering, “I um I’m going to be here another few days.”

He grimaces, almost he’s like he’s expecting something explosive but Clay just shrugs. “Alright. Finish you history before dinner so we can work on algebra after.”

Justin looks surprised, downright shocked even. “You-aren’t mad?”

He sounds insecure somehow but Clay can’t tell why that would be. In any case he actually isn’t mad. This hasn’t exactly been fun for him but it hasn’t been truly miserable either. Putting up with it for another few days is the same, not ideal but not the end of the world. 

“Nope.”

Unfortunately, Justin doesn't seem convinced of this for some reason because he’s awkward all night. Dinner is a miserable affair with his parents trying and failing again to start a conversation to their frustration which seems to make Justin worry more. He eats even more than what Clay thinks is usual for him and later when they’re working on Justin’s homework, he’s obviously uncomfortable. Clay can’t really say he’s sympathetic since Justin could have stopped eating at any point, it makes the homework take a whole lot longer too. Clay gets more and more frustrated by their lack of progress which in turn seems to upset Justin more and more which leads to them getting less done. All in all, it’s a miserable experience.

They head to bed shortly after finishing the work and Clay’s honestly just ready to call an end to this day. It’s been complicated to say the least between Monty, the lying, and Justin staying longer. Overall he guesses not the worst but that could just be because he didn’t get beaten up by Monty and he could have very easily. 

Justin staying longer is complicated. He can’t honestly say he hates the other boy as much as he wants to. He won’t say he likes him. Helping him deal with Monty once and being kind of funny doesn’t erase the fact that he’s a jock at Liberty and a bully. The fact that he’s seemed vulnerable and scared the whole time doesn’t matter either. He’s out of his element of course he seems that way. He drifts off thinking in circles and getting nowhere.

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He needs to pee. He knows this, can feel it, but doesn’t want to move. The bed is warm, he’s found a comfortable spot, and if he moves now there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to go back to sleep. 

But he needs to pee.

With a sigh he rolls out of bed and stumbles into the bathroom. He manages to keep his mind almost totally blank as he flushes and washes his hands. It isn’t until he’s back in his room that he notices something is wrong. The couch is empty, blankets kicked back and the pillow is on the floor. But Justin isn’t in the bathroom so where did he go?

Leaving his room, he sees light coming from downstairs and follows it. He almost can’t say he’s surprised to find it coming from the kitchen and when he enters he’s equally as disappointed as he is shocked. And disgusted, he’s that too.

Justin is at the table, a box of cereal is open with a bowl in front of him. In addition wrappers of granola bars, an apple core, and the empty container that held the last of the awful quiche litter the table. The boy in question is frozen, spoon halfway to his mouth, body bent over the bowl, an arm wrapped around it protectively and eyes, absolutely horrified, locked with Clay’s. Then very slowly, he brings the spoon to his mouth and eats the cereal on it. The whole time he looks like he’s waiting for Clay to take it. 

For his part, Clay would like to, except his body won’t move and whether it’s from being grossed out or shocked, he isn’t sure. Clearly Justin’s been here a while just based on the amount of food that’s been eaten. He can’t help as his lip curls up to reflect his disgust, especially when Justin takes another bite and reaches for the cereal box, apparently intent on pouring himself more.

“Put that down.” 

It isn’t what he planned on being the first words to leave his mouth but Justin guiltily lowers the box to the table and looks disappoints as he lowers his gaze to the table. There’s silence for a few seconds as Clay’s sluggish brain tries to catch up with the scene and finally he simply asks, “Why?”

Justin flinches and Clay has to admit that he sounded almost like Dad in terms of the disappointed department.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Clay shakes his head mutely for a minute and then replies, “So you decided to come try to eat everything in the kitchen?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” He repeats it as though Clay didn’t understand the first time he said it. 

“And?”

“Eating helps me sleep?” He sounds like he’s asking a question rather than answering one.

“Well are you done?”

“Yes?” Clay thinks he only gets that answer because Justin thinks it’s the one he wants to hear. He isn’t wrong that Clay expects this answer because come one, eating this much food is as gross as it is wasteful.

“Good let’s clean up and go back to bed.”

He just wants this all to be over and to not remember any of it the next morning, be able to convince himself that it's just a dream. He leans over and grabs fistfuls of wrappers while Justin puts the cereal box in the cabinet and apple core in the garbage. Clay grabs the bowl and is prepared to dump the milk down the drain when Justin makes a noise that borders on distress.

He holds his hand out and says, “Let me finish that.”

His eyes lock with Clay’s again and Clay almost feels bad about dumping it right in front of him when he sees the pure regret in them as he performs the action.

“Bed.”

Damn...he sounds old.

He leads and Justin follows morosely, head hung and feet dragging. If he was more awake, Clay might comment but he wants to be back in bed. Unfortunately, they get upstairs and Justin pushes past him quickly and heads into the bathroom rather than Clay’s room. He doesn’t really want to know but unfortunately the sound of retching isn’t so easily ignored. He goes into his room anyway. He isn’t Justin’s keeper, he isn’t responsible for this or for making him feel okay after he literally ate himself sick.

It doesn’t seem to stop though, not for a little while and Clay is seriously considering getting up and going in when the toilet flushes and Justin stumbles in.

He locks eyes with Clay and it’s too dark for him to confirm but he has a feeling that Justin’s embarrassed about being caught and then throwing it all up.

“Why?” He asked it already but he feels listening to Justin’s stomach turn itself inside out for almost ten minutes gives him the right to ask it again. He isn’t sure he’ll get a different answer and isn’t sure he wants a different one, but he asks anyway.

“I um I stress eat?” Justin mumbles his reply and again it sounds more like a question than an answer. Still it does make some amount of sense, the past few days can’t have been any kind of easy for him. It seems to human though, even if he can get along with Justin well enough, even if some of their interactions border on friendly, thinking of Justin Foley, king of Liberty, rising star of the basketball team, best friend of Bryce Walker, and general bully, as having a flaw seems hard. Well, Justin has a lot of flaws but a vulnerability, it’s just hard to understand.

Even more so because his position is secure, he doesn’t have to worry about what happens if he can’t stay here because he’s already been told he is so why should he be nervous?

“You’re stressed now?” His voice sounds as doubtful as his thoughts.

“Your parents um, they didn’t seem to happy at dinner.” 

He’s still mumbling but Clay thinks he hears the question behind it. Justin must not think his position is safe, that if his parents get too annoyed over failed dinner conversations they might get rid of him. It’s almost funny because there’s no way that would happen except it isn’t because it just caused Justin to eat a stupid amount of food and then throw it all back up.

“They were annoyed but it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Really?” His eyes are big and curious, they’re the only thing Clay can see well in the dark. 

“Yeah, they wanted us to participate more in the conversation but they can’t really do anything about us not. It’s fine, nothing to worry about.”

Justin’s face is hopeful but also doubtful and he asks, “You sure?” It sounds like he expects Clay to go back on what he said but all it does is frustrate him a little. He has no reason to lie.

“Yes, now go to sleep. I’m tired.” Maybe being so curt wasn’t the right thing to do because Justin mumbles an apology and that makes him feel a little bad. He consoles himself by thinking it’s only because he’s tired and cranky. They settle down and are asleep not much later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is now more than half posted, only two chapters left. This one has the fallout of Monty's interaction in the last chapter and also Clay learning something new about Justin he didn't think was possible, the other boy has human traits!
> 
> Next chapter will probably be Monday or Tuesday and will feature more of the boys being boys, then it's on to the finale of this part! Speaking of which just so everyone knows, this is the first part of a several part series for this AU so chapter 6 will being this part to end but not the story as a whole to the end. I've started work on the next part in the mean time.
> 
> As always, happy reading and I love comments which you all have so kindly supplied me with so many of and I thank you for them!


	5. Skies and Seas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While playing a video game together, Clay learns a little more about Justin.

Despite the long night, Clay actually wakes up not too tired. Justin seems pretty awake too and his appetite is curbed. Oddly neither of his parents comment on the missing food but then again, both are in a rush to get out of the house for work. Getting through the day is pretty easy, he doesn’t see Monty at all and Justin tells him and Tony on the ride home that the other boy bought the tutoring story. All in all, he’ll count the day pretty successful and dinner is less awkward than it was last night. Mom is still at work and that immediately lowers the stress since one parent is much easier to deal with than both and Dad’s questions feel less like an interrogation, he and Justin reply with more lengthy answers which helps. It isn’t much but between that and Justin asking Dad about the food and cooking, they get through the meal with no problems.

The ease of the day comes to an unexpected end, namely Justin sighing for almost an hour straight after dinner. Clay tries to ignore him and finally finish _Killer Robot_ but that only lasts so long and soon he isn’t reading so much as he is spiting Justin by not acknowledging him.

Eventually though it’s too much even for that and he finally snaps, “If your so bored why don’t you go hang out with your friends?”

“Can’t.” The answer is sad and pathetic and doesn’t gain him any sympathy from Clay. He’s just being annoying.

“Why not?”

“Court order, since this is a temporary thing and the court is like, responsible for me. I can only leave here to go to school or school things like practice.”

Clay rolls his eyes because of course a precious sports activity would be allowed. “Not my problem. Find something to do and be quiet.”

Justin looks a little disappointed but he doesn’t care. He isn’t going to entertain the moron.

The boy moves around the room and eventually settles in front of the TV and Clay’s gaming systems. His hands move through the cases and boxes until he holds one up. “Can I play this?”

Clay glances up to see him holding a Nintendo 64 case, old and dusty because it’s been ages since Clay played it. He’s surprised to say the least. He assumed Justin would be a fan of shooter games and be bored with Clay’s collection of platformers and RPGs but he’s holding up _Mario 64_. He shrugs because he doesn't really care. Justin may not play for long but any time he isn’t moping is good enough. “Go ahead but it’s hard.”

Justin doesn’t reply to that and instead goes about hooking the system up and starting up the game.

Despite his initial assumption, it keeps the other boy very occupied. Unfortunately, this comes the cost of him being super annoying. He talks through a lot of it, “damn he’s about to do all this for cake from his lady? Better be the best fucking cake in the world” or asking Clay if he saw every time he does something “cool” and freaking out about jumping into a painting.

For his part, Clay manages to get more reading done but not a whole lot more because as much as he doesn’t want to be, he’s drawn to Justin playing. He forgot how much he enjoyed this game. It’s been ages since he and Dad tried to beat it but he remembers rainy Saturdays when they would sit on the floor of the living room passing the controller back and forth shouting in excitement everytime one of them managed something new for found a star and consoling each other in death after death. All the while Mom watched from a more dignified seat on the couch, pretending to read and not be interested but still offering advice on how to solve problems, even if it wasn’t very useful. 

He watches over the top of the comic as Justin bumbles into a few stars by accident and dies hilariously more often than not. In fact, a few times Clay ends up laughing out loud because really, who actually gets killed by goombas? Shortly after Justin gets his eighth star, Clay stops pretending he isn’t watching and moves from his bed to the floor. At first Justin seems embarrassed to have an audience but he quickly works past that. To Clay’s surprise, he does more than simply watch Justin and ends up backseat driving, giving advice, telling the other boy where to go or what star to get while Justin reacts with mock annoyance, sometimes intentionally doing the opposite just to annoy him. Of course Clay always gets his ‘I told you so’ moment in the end because he’s right and Justin always replies with ‘if you’re so smart you play the game’.

He does. At some point Justin passes him the controller and they spend almost almost ten minutes trying to race the stupid polar bear down the slide. They’re awful at it, age hasn’t improved his skills or the game’s controls but they end up laughing madly at some of their worst runs. A few times they get really damn close and when Clay finally gets it, Justin excitedly claps him on the back in congratulations and he doesn’t even mind that the other boy touched him. 

They settle into a routine of Clay trying to remember where a painting is located and bringing them there, sometimes getting lost along the way, and them trying to get as many stars as they can from the place before getting frustrated and moving on. He desperately doesn’t want to admit he’s enjoying himself, doesn’t want to be having fun with Justin over something stupid like this but he is.

When they get the winged hat for the first time, Justin is mesmerized. Clay has the controller so he doesn’t notice it at first but when Justin has been silent for too long, he glances sideways to see him watching every movement intently with wide eyes. When he gets rid of the cap, he gets a surprising reaction. 

“Why’d you do that for.” 

It sounds almost accusatory.

“I can’t get the star wearing it.” 

“Oh,” there’s a slight pause and then, “well just don’t get the star.” He punctuates a dumb sentence with a silly grin and Clay finds himself rolling his eyes.

“Getting stars is the point of the game.”

“Yea but flying.”

“It doesn’t get you stars.”

Justin still looks unconvinced and then says, “If I got a hat like that, I’d never get rid of it. I’d just keep flying forever.” His eyes are distant as if he’s imagining it.

“Got a lot of problems to run from?” He asks it facetiously because really, Justin having problems that serious? No way.

The only reply he gets is a noise and he can’t tell exactly what it means. It could be a grunt, or it could be an affirmation, he isn’t really sure but Justin still has a distant look in his eyes as if still imagining Mario, or maybe himself, soaring through the skies of a game that’s practically ancient or out of Crestmont and away from everything that’s here.

They go quiet for a bit but Clay ends up dying and passes the controller over to Justin. They other boy wanders around for a bit and eventually ends up with the winged cap. He spends almost ten minutes just flying around. It’s stupid but the look of joy on his face is enough to convince Clay to bite his tongue and Justin does eventually, if reluctantly, give up the hat himself to get a star.

They play much later into the night than they probably should but tomorrow is Saturday so it’s not like he has to get up and do anything. The big reason they keep continuing past every ‘this is the last star for tonight’ is how continually amazed Justin is by each new world even in their old, dated forms and Clay wonders how he would react to a game with better graphics. Besides the winged hat, he’s also struck silent by the sky world, and then practically glows when the hat also appears in it. Clay lets him play the level cause it’s a pain in the ass anyway.

When they enter Jolly Roger Bay for the first time, Justin is similarly silent for a bit while Clay does some exploring. He swims Mario down to the sunken ship at the bottom of the map and is entering it when Justin speaks up.

“Is this what the ocean’s really like?”

His voice is full of wonder and awe and when Clay glances sideways he sees him staring at the screen, eyes forced open as wide as they’ll go like he somehow thinks it’ll allow him to better absorb what he’s seeing. He looks back at the screen and can’t really say he’s impressed. Time hasn’t done this game any favors in terms it’s graphics and looking at the water world rendered almost two decades ago, he thinks he’s seen more believable lakes in some cartoons. 

“Not really, have you never seen the ocean?”

“No, I’ve always wanted to. Bryce and Monty, even Mom have talked about it but I don’t have anyway of getting there. I want to though, someday.”

Clay’s family goes to the beach once a summer. His parents rent a hotel room for the three of them and they spend the weekend laying in the sand and swimming in the water basically from sunup to sun down. When he was younger it was always the most exciting part of the summer but the past few years it’s failed to live up to his memories. It hasn’t seemed as fun now as it did then but telling Justin that seems cruel.

“You’ve never even seen it on TV?”

Justin gives an embarrassed, almost self deprecating grin as if he realizes what he’s saying is ridiculous. “No, I close my eyes. I don’t want to see it until I get to see the real thing.”

It’s a dumb dream. Maybe not dumb but a silly one, so small and inconsequential and yet maybe that’s because he’s seen it. 

He remembers being younger and seeing the beach for the first time, watching mesmerized from the top of the dunes how the horizon stretched on forever in all directions, literally limitless. How at some point it must have joined the sky but the union was so perfect between them that exactly where it took place was anyone’s guess and it hardly mattered because it was between two infinite entities. He remembers the pure delight at how small he felt standing there and how the possibilities for the day, like the ocean and sky, were limitless. 

He also remembers how different the air smelled there, with the tang of salt, how strange the sounds were. Once past the dunes, the noises of the city, the traffic and lawnmowers and everything else were replaced by the sounds of people, hundreds of them on a bad day, thousands most others. All packed together on the strip of sand. Radios playing music, the songs mixing with the laughter and conversations, the sound of aerosol cans spraying sunscreen, the whistles of the lifeguards. Above it all, the crashing of the waves, the proof of power for the infinite body that excited his imagination. He could remember the feeling of sand against his feet for the first time and barely being able to contain himself while Mom and Dad set up an umbrella and chairs and put sunscreen on him. After that was accomplished there was nothing that could keep him out of the water for long and he usually ended up in there sooner or later.

“You’ll see it someday. It’s much better than this.”

Justin’s eyes are still fixed on the screen but he turns to meet Clay’s eyes and then breaks into a wide smile, “Someday. When I do, I’ll let you know what I think.”

“I’ll be waiting for the postcard.”

Justin doesn't seem like the kind of person who will remember some stupid conversation on the floor of the bedroom of someone who’s basically a stranger, playing a very old video game. Clay doubts he’ll ever hear what the boy thinks of the ocean but _if_ he does, he hopes it’s as magical for Justin as it was for him the first time he saw it. 

Not that he cares, but everyone should get to experience it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the penultimate chapter of part one. Here we see Clay and Justin bond more, or maybe for real this time. Clay hears about Justin's hopes and dreams and doesn't shoot them down and they boys enjoy their first real time together as something like friends. The chapter is pretty light in themes and not very action-y I apologize to people looking for more excitement but as I've mentioned, this is a slow burn story.
> 
> Next chapter should be up Saturday or Sunday and brings this to a close, I'm interested to hear what you guys think of it when it's finished and I'm already working on part 2.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and happy reading. As always I love comments for if you have something to say feel free to and I'll get back to you!


	6. Partings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day finally arrives and Clay doesn’t know how to feel, neither does Justin it seems and that just makes it harder.

Saturday passes lazily. Clay gets up late and after breakfast, he and Justin work on homework. Justin understands most of his, even the algebra, so they finish pretty quickly and wind up back in front of the TV for several hours playing Mario again. They both get pretty into it for a while but Justin starts to get restless and after learning there is a basketball hoop in the backyard, Clay ends up getting dragged outside courtesy of Mom. Apparently she thinks them going out for a little exercise is a “great idea” even though Clay is useless at sports.

Still it goes better than he imagined, they track down a basketball from the garage that’s somehow usable. Justin seems happy enough just to have the ball in his hands and take shots at the hoop which he comments is too low but Clay thinks he compensates for it by being farther back. They sort of play a game but even though he’s sure Justin’s holding back, he still gets stomped. He runs his mouth like an idiot, but Clay isn’t really bothered. Most of the trash talk is obviously a joke since not even Justin can keep a straight face when saying he has ‘the grace of like a hundred panthers’. They stay out for almost an hour but head in when it starts getting too dark to see and too cold to want to continue playing. 

Dinner is a surprisingly lively affair, at least when compared to the others this week. All four of them are there and they have some casual conversation. Mom teases him about sleeping for so long which leads to Dad tease both of them about being up all night playing video games. When asked about why he took an interest in the basketball net, Justin explains he plays for the Tigers and when Dad asks to know more, Justin launches into a couple of stories about the game and team. His parents can hardly eat bcause they’re laughing so hard and his lip twitches a few times but only because everything out of Justin’s mouth is too stupid to be true, there’s no way the whole team stayed overnight in a motel, all crammed into one room. He’s surprised to hear how Justin talks about the game. His whole face lights up as he explains the rules and strategies and Clay hadn’t considered that anyone could actually like playing a sport that much.

Later that evening, Justin even apologizes for being an ass. He sounds sincere about it but Clay’s not sure he totally believes it; actions speak louder than words and all that and Justin’s actions might make it believable now but time will tell.

The night passes in relative peace. He thinks he wakes up once to Justin moving around but he can’t even really be too sure about that by the time he wakes up the next morning.

It’s this though that proves strange because Justin is already up, not surprising, and when he ventures downstairs, he finds a huge breakfast with his parents and house guest waiting in the kitchen. Justin looks plain uncomfortable while his parents are in their element. He isn’t sure exactly what Mom is doing but he can tell by the slightly manic gleam in her eyes, the way she’s sitting up straighter than usual, and the tone of her voice. Dad is at the stove and Clay doesn’t know what he’s making but he’s seriously questioning why it’s anything at all because Justin has a mountain of food in front of him already and his face is a little green looking at it all.

He enters the room and Justin is the first to see him, offering a “good morning Clay” loudly enough that both adults hear it. His suspicion he’s being used as bait is confirmed as Mom turns to look at him and the manic gleam is still there. 

“Good morning Clay.”

“Morning.”

He takes a seat since it’s too late to run and gives Jusin a slightly dirty look for dragging him into this. The other boy pretends not to notice.

“I got a call this morning from the court. Justin will be going home around noon. We want to make sure he has a proper send off.”

“So you decided to empty the fridge.”

“We wanted to make sure the last meal we had together was special.” Dad ‘helpfully’ supplies from the stove.

“Right.” He can’t think of an ulterior motive for his parents at the moment, but this much food is really just excessive so he’s sure there’s one there. 

“Mrs. Jensen was making plans for a big dinner tonight, with both of our families.”

Oh, yea that would explain the look, Mom would go overboard with something like that. Still Justin’s face says he very much is unsure of it and Clay has to agree, not only does it sound exhausting but he’s sure Justin just wants to be home and spend some time with his parents. He says as much and that seems to put the matter to bed, for now. Justin looks relieved, he can sympathise.

Breakfast is surprisingly painless after that but there are a lot of leftovers and when it’s over, Justin politely excuses himself to make sure he has everything packed. Mom suggests Clay join him upstairs to help even though Justin came with next to nothing and is leaving pretty much the same way but with some hand me downs Clay expects him to toss as soon as he can. Not that he blames him; being an only child, the concept of getting second hand clothes seems weird enough already but the thought of getting them from a guy you lived with for a few days to avoid spending it in a juvenile hall seems more so.

He does though, for no other reason than to check that it’s actually happening. Justin has been here less than a week and yet the idea of him actually going home seems foreign somehow, a distant promise he never expected to see fulfilled despite spending the first few days waiting for it. After it got pushed back once, he sort of figured it would happen eventually but somehow now that the day is here, it’s unbelievable. And the thing is, a week really isn’t that long of a time, he’s still not use to Justin even being here. And yet he might be willing to admit the week has changed a lot of things since Justin no longer seems like faceless enemy in a varsity jacket. He could actually be a person. The thought is strange but maybe it’s why Justin leaving seems so unbelievable, he’s a person who didn’t have a past because ‘Justin’ as he knew the boy before is not the same person he now knows.

In his room, Justin’s folding the extra clothes with more care than he would have thought and he sort of waits at the door for a moment before entering, still trying to order his thoughts and feelings. His parents expect him to help and if they find some reason to come up, which he suspects at least one of them will, than he has to at least offer.

Clearing his throat he does just that.

Justin turns around and gives a smile, not the famous Foley smile, and not the one full of wonder Clay saw when they played Mario or the impish one from basketball. This one is full of more apprehension than happiness and more weariness than wonder. It seems wrong.

“Nah, I’m good here.”

“Sure?”

“Mhm, thanks for offering.” He goes back to folding the clothes up and Clay moves to his bed, taking a seat and sort of watching. The blanket and sheets Justin used are stripped and folded up on a cushion to be brought down while the clothes will soon disappear in an old duffel bag he thinks belongs to Dad. 

In a few hours, all traces Justin was ever here will be gone. 

That thought alone reinforces the wrongness of the situation despite that it still shouldn’t feel that way. Even if he sort of likes Justin, even if he’s willing to admit that he hopes future interactions between them go beyond just tutoring and maybe polite nods in the halls, it still shouldn’t be this conflicting for him to be moving out. He’s getting his room back, that alone should make him happy.

Maybe it has to do with the strange signals Justin is giving off. The other boy isn’t celebrating either though at breakfast he tried to convince them he was happy to be going home while also thanking them profusely for letting him stay. Clay doesn't buy it, not fully at least.

“Excited to be going home finally?”

“Totally! You and your parents have been great staying here and it’s been good but I’m ready to go home.”

Clay might be convinced if not that Justin’s too stiff to be ‘ready to go back home’ and he wonders if the other boy looked this uncomfortable the first night at the kitchen table. He thinks probably but can’t fully remember, he wasn’t paying that much attention then, didn’t think Justin had anything to worry about. 

“Yea I’m sure.” He really isn’t and Justin might not be either.

The other boy stops mid motion for a second and then adds, “Things have been easy here, I’ll be sorry to see that go.”

“Easy?” He sounds incredulous but that’s fine cause it’s how he feels. “How could they have been easy? I thought I made it pretty clear I didn’t want you when you first came and my parents are a mess on a good day!” He pauses for a moment and then adds. “You even got sick remember? How could that have been easy?”

The other boy doesn’t turn to face him and instead shugs his shoulders. “It’s complicated but being here has been nice.”

Obviously this doesn’t make a lot of sense but for some reason he’s tongue tied on the topic. Justin doesn’t offer any more on the subject either and they lapse into silence. It lasts until Justin finish packing the clothes and Mom calls up to let Justin know his parents are here. Justin looks sick for just a second but then he manages to turn it into a bright smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Well, I guess this is it. It’s-thanks Clay, for everything.”

“Yeah, we’ll still see each other at school.” 

“Of course.”

He’s out the door when Clay finds his voice again.

“Justin?” He’s on his feet fumbling to unhook wires and when the other boy comes back to the door Clay holds the N64 out to him.

“You can borrow it, finish the game at home and-” The words fade out because he spoke before thinking and he didn’t even consider that Justin may not have a TV that can support the old system, or worse, may not want to finish the game and thinks Clay’s a loser for offering or-

Bony arms wrap around him tightly and a few hairs tickle his chin and nose. When did Justin close the distance between them? When did they reach a point that hugging is okay?

“Thank you.”

Justin’s whisper is so heartfelt that he finds his muscles loosen and his arms wrap around the smaller boy. It’s still sort of awkward but sort of not. It end though, Justin pulls away and offers, “I have to go, they’re waiting for me. We don’t have a TV at home that can use it but-but maybe I can come over some time and we can finish it?”

“Justin?”

Mom’s voice comes up the stairs and Justin is clutching the bag and looking hopefully at Clay who nods. “Yeah that sounds great.”

“Cool. I’ve got to go but- well we’ll see each other.”

He turns to leave and he’s part way down the hall when he yells back, “You’d better not get any farther without me!”

Clay lets out a slight chuckle and calls back, “You won’t know if I do, how many stars do we have?”

“51.”

He’s impressed Justin actually remembers but he can’t shake the feeling that the game will go unfinished. He wonders if Justin will even remember him tomorrow at school. He follows the other boy downstairs and takes a spot with his parents at the door. Justin walks towards a car parked out front but no one comes out to greet him, there aren’t hugs or even a window rolled down until he’s basically there. When it is, he isn’t impressed. The woman inside the car looks surprisingly dead, her eyes are glassy, and her thick hair seems so heavy it weighs her down giving her back and shoulders a slouch he can see all the way from here. The man past her in the driver's seat is harder to catch a glimpse of but his defining trait seems to be muscle and not much else. He can’t hear what’s said but he thinks if he could, he’d wish he couldn’t. Justin opens the back door, tosses the bag in and turns to take a seat. He gives them one last wave before he gets in and then the car is off at a breakneck speed.

It feels so final, like that’s it, Justin’s out of his life for good despite the conversation they just had. He heads back up to his room and almost protests when Mom comes and collects the bedding for the wash, with it gone, the room is returned to how it was before Justin. It makes him sad somehow. He tries to bury it in finishing his comic but despite the utter silence of the room, he still can’t concentrate, the stillness is almost too oppressive, too obvious. He hopes tomorrow Justin proves him wrong, finds him at some point and lets him know this wasn’t some sort of fever dream, that it really happened and they have some connection, a friendship even. He’ll have to wait though, suddenly Monday seems far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I'm sure at least one of you is mad at me for sending Justin home with his mom but don't worry it isn't forever. In any case welcome to the final chapter of part 1 and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! In this chapter, Justin goes home and despite an emotional parting, Clay still doubts Justin's friendship (spoiler alert for the next part, they are friends).
> 
> Speaking of that next part, it's much longer and in the works but I don't have a date I plan to post it yet because I want to have more of it written. If you'd all like when I start adding it on the site, I can post the 1st chapter here for those of you who have this bookmarked but don't check obsessively like I do.
> 
> In any case, happy reading and I sincerely hope you've enjoyed this far! Let me know what you think in the comments if you have time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to a new story! To be clear I haven't finished my other and I'm not finished with it but I needed to take a break from it. I still have many ideas for it and Justin and Zach aren't close to being done on their adventure but I'm hoping this will help me clear my head so I can get from where I am in that story to the parts I have ideas for.
> 
> And that doesn't mean that's this stories only purpose. I've been thinking about writing this AU for quite a while. It's taken a ridiculous number of forms, I wrote three different chapter ones before the one posted here and thy were radically different, one was a time travel story! In the end, none of them were going to work like I wanted and I was ready to give up when I had this idea. It was still hard to write but after I finished this chapter the others flowed much nicer.
> 
> I hope you like it and I welcome comments, let me know what you think of the story! My hope is to give the next one in a few days at best or a week at most. It's written but I need to decide the pace for the story. Also thank you to Daisy and Sarah_Serious for encouraging me to write this!


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